An increasing number of EU member states are adopting non-price criteria in their offshore wind auction designs, write Vasilios Anatolitis, Julia Panny, Malte Gephart, and Pia Weckenbrock. But while non-price criteria can support a wide range of policy objectives, their design and implementation come with challenges, they caution.
Protecting our planet means taking urgent action on building clean energy and supporting vibrant ecosystems. The two ambitions can be compatible, but this requires collaboration, writes Kate Wallace-Lockhart.
The EU’s updated renewable energy directive includes numerous measures to fast-track projects. Meeting the EU’s updated 2030 target for renewables will now require swift implementation by EU Member States, write Marian Bons and Agustin Roth. Marian Bons and Agustin Roth are …
The EU’s renewable energy target for 2030 is at risk due to low ambition in Central and Eastern European countries. The upcoming revision of National Energy and Climate Plans is a crucial opportunity to remedy this, write Pawel Czyzak and Rebekka Popp.
With the EU's regulatory framework for energy up to 2030 yet to be fully defined, the political momentum from the recent North Sea Summit will need to be sustained to overcome policy challenges in delivery, writes Jas Basi.
EU policymakers have reached a provisional agreement on the revision of the Renewable Energy Directive, showing a high level of ambition. But the real challenge lies in the national implementation, write Pia Kerres, Malte Gephart and Corinna Klessmann. Pia Kerres, Malte …
The Baltic Sea region's shift towards offshore wind and its pivot away from Russian energy supplies is changing the Baltic energy security dynamics while increasing the region’s dependence on offshore and maritime energy infrastructure, writes Lukas Trakimavičius.
As the EU nurtures its clean energy manufacturing ambitions, the reliance on imports of critical materials remains a cause for concern in many Member States, write Fatih Birol and Pascal Canfin.
Slow permit-granting processes are one of the biggest barriers standing in the way of reaching the EU’s 2030 renewables targets. Governments and policymakers must act boldly so that renewables deployment can ramp up as quickly as possible, writes Sandrine-Dixson-Declève.
Europe is wide awake to a new energy crisis. Now, we can and should address our imported fossil fuel dependency at its roots. We can’t do that by buying oil and gas from elsewhere than Russia. That’s not the way …
An attempt to redefine the notion of efficiency to bolster the case for synthetic fuels is simply a smokescreen to hide the truth: that battery electric vehicles are the far more efficient solution, writes Günter Hörmandinger.
Offshore wind could not only propel the Baltics to the forefront of the energy transition, but also to the ranks of clean energy exporters, writes Lukas Trakimavičius.
With the passing of the first Polish offshore wind act, plans for offshore wind development in the Baltic Sea are at hand and the construction of the very first Polish offshore wind farms will soon become a reality. By 2030, approximately …
The European Commission's aim of 300 GW of offshore wind capacity exceeds the needs of coastal states, so countries need to work together to hit this target and achieve the full potential of offshore wind, writes Zsuzsanna Pató.
Europe’s hydrogen strategy mostly points in the right direction by identifying renewable hydrogen as a key energy vector and necessary storage solution for delivering a zero-carbon EU, but it side-steps several key problems that go to the core of what …
Decarbonising Europe’s economy means replacing fossil fuels by renewables wherever possible. And that implies getting much more renewable electricity into heating and transport, writes Giles Dickson.
In just over a decade, we will be able to build a new electricity system around renewable energy that is cleaner, produces almost no carbon emissions, costs less than a system built around natural gas, and is just as reliable, writes David Nelson.
Economic curtailment is an issue not yet fully appreciated by most investors in renewable energy, but it has the potential to reduce the availability and increase the cost of investment, writes Brian O’Connell.
If the EU is to reap the benefits that the northern seas have to offer, a concerted effort is required both by the European institutions and the member states, write Claude Turmes, Theresa Griffin and Jeppe Kofod.
After COP21, multinationals will play a crucial role in achieving ambitious climate targets. While policymakers can provide the right legislative framework and policy priorities, Malgosia Bartosik explains why businesses are taking the lead.
The Internet is history's most successful example of interconnection and unity through transmission, a model which the EU could replicate when deciding on its plans for an Energy Union, writes Thomas Becker.
When it comes to choosing sites for wind farms, nature conservation is always the last thing to be considered, falling behind the price of land, proximity to power lines and opposition from locals, writes Luke Dale-Harris.
Given the long-term investment and planning required for the creation of new energy production, the EU needs a policy framework beyond 2020 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, writes Christian Kjaer in an exclusive op-ed for EURACTIV. He concludes that a technology-neutral emissions performance standard is needed if the EU is to offer both incentives and fair competition in the provision of carbon-free electricity.
